| By Water and The Spirit
We are very happy that you want to have your child baptized
in the Federated Church of Hyannis, and we want to be part of the
joy and celebration at this very important point in your family
life. Baptism is a symbolic act of our church family. As such, it
has at least three aspects which should be understood by parents
and god-parents or sponsors in order for you to better carry out
the commitments which are involved.
1. God’s Initiative
First, the church celebrates the fact that God loves your child
quite apart from anything that he/she (or you) could do to deserve
that love! We believe that in the divine order of events, our lives
have worth because we all belong to the family of God. This is strikingly
seen, for example, in the Biblical accounts of Jesus’ approach
to people. He invariably reached out to them, just as they were,
taking children in his arms and inviting all manner of men and women
to dine with him. Baptism is an act of rejoicing and thanksgiving
because God takes the initiative in coming to us. The brightness
of baptism is the great joy of knowing that God loves your child
and offers him or her the possibility of living as a child of his
Kingdom. Thus, baptism is not a “giving away” of your
child to God, but rather, thanking God that your child is his already.
2. Our Response
Second, in baptism, children are publicly received by a community
of Christians who pledge that they will express God’s love
in concrete ways. Neither human love nor divine love is ever a vague
generality. Our Lord, for example, did not simply dispense sweet
sayings; he lived out God’s love for us and God’s demand
upon us. And the church exists to continue this work of redemption
and of calling us to fullness of life. Children are baptized, therefore,
with the prayer that they will come to accept for themselves what
Christ has done for them and that they will be instruments of God’s
blessing in the world.
Baptism is also properly celebrated within the regular service
of worship. It is not simply a private rite for the family and invited
guests. In the course of the service, the members of our family
of faith vow to support you in providing appropriate environment
and education to help your growing child know God as revealed in
Jesus Christ. They promise to pray for and with your child and your
family, and to guide, support, and encourage you in your commitment
as parents.
3. Gift of the Spirit
Third, in baptism we pray that your child may be filled with the
spirit of God and may know fulfillment and freedom of life as God’s
child. The disciples found that their lives took on new purpose
and value through their association with our Lord. The apostle Paul
experienced a similar transformation though he never knew Jesus
in the flesh. These followers, and Christians ever since, have tried
to account for the effect that Jesus Christ has had on them. They
have described it as newness of life and the gift
of the Holy Spirit. Baptism has to do with the promise of
this gift and with the belief and experience of Christians that
it is through association with Christ in his life, death, and resurrection
that one becomes aware of the possibility of new life and is enabled
to receive the gift of the Spirit.
Thus, we see that through the service of baptism, the church declares:
- that God loves us freely, quite apart from any merit on our
part;
- that God takes the initiative in addressing each individual;
calling, forgiving, and enabling us to live abundantly in response
to him;
- that baptized persons have become part of the community of
Christ and that the church thereafter has a continuing responsibility
for them;
- that baptized persons are joined to Christ and through Christ’s
experience of life and death are offered the assurance that may
free them to trust God completely;
- that the promise of the Holy Spirit and the experience of an
abundant life are God’s gifts, freely offered to all and
known by those who receive the gift of faith.
The words and action of the service of baptism are directly related
to these declarations. There are two primary symbols. Water
symbolizes cleansing or forgiveness. Laying on of hands
symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit, God actively working in
us. These two symbols for baptism means both cleansing and flooding
with new life for us.
There are also certain secondary symbols in the baptismal service.
The bestowal of the name signifies that each person is called by
God as a unique individual. The vows of the parents and of the congregation
are their response to God and the acceptance of the responsibility
to lead the newly baptized person into the way of Christ. The holding
of the child by the pastor symbolizes the tender love of God, and
it is a sign of being taken into the love and care of the church.
Who Shall Be Baptized?
Since baptism is a rite of entry into the church, it is intended
for children whose parents are active church members. Those who
are members of another church but who wish to have their child baptized
here need to provide a letter from the pastor of that church confirming
their membership. The church’s concern is for the child, that
the parents, through their commitment, provide their child with
an exemplary life of commitment to Christ and his church.
Baptism
Information Form
(Form can be filled out and then printed)
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